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In a bombshell announcement made today, B.J. Penn has returned to the UFC and will drop two weight classes, from 170 to 145, in order to coach opposite Frankie Edgar on season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter before facing him in an April 2014 matchup.

BJ Penn and RedBull Cliff Diver Orlando Duque

As Confirmed by UFC Tonight, former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion, B.J. Penn will return to action to coach the 19th season of The Ultimate Fighter against Frankie Edgar. They will be coaching fighters in both the middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions.

UFC president, Dana White stated on UFC tonight that he had originally planned on pitting Urijah Faber against Edgar as coaches of TUF but the two could not agree on a weight class in which to compete. Around the same time as the UFC struggled with finding two suitable coaches, Penn requested, in a text to White, Penn expressed his desire for a top caliber lightweight opponent. White also stated that Penn is extremely motivated for this opportunity in a new division.

– See more at: http://www.bjpenn.com/bj-penn-and-frankie-edgar-set-to-coach-the-ultimate-fighter-season-19/#sthash.6u2GDqPV.dpuf

So here is a bit of local sports news and I just happen to have a picture of the two of them together. BJ Penn is going to guest star on Hawaii 5-0 and Orlando Duque is recovering following his third surgery.

I was reading BJ Penn’s first blog post on the Bleacher Report since he lost his last fight to Nate Diaz and one of the things that he revealed is that he landed a guest spot on “Hawaii 5-0”.

…I have been back in Hawaii for a while now, but I haven’t been doing much as far as athletics go. This is partly because I think I sprained my finger or something, so because of that I have just been kind of laying low and enjoying life…

…As I am working on this piece, I am on my way to Oahu. I was given a part in an episode of the hit TV Show, Hawaii 5.0, and I will be filming for the next few days on set. It’s really good timing to be out in Oahu because the president of RVCA, Pat Tenore, and his whole family have taken a vacation this week out there, so when I’m not filming I plan on going and hanging out with them…

“I’m very excited to be part of this tremendous opportunity,” the 32-year-old Penn, a native of Hilo, said. “I look forward to working with the UFC and UFC Gym to make this a huge success. It will be such an honor to have a UFC Gym with my name, especially in my homeland of Hawaii.”

Media Release:

UFC® Gym™ announced today that it will partner with UFC superstar and former two-division champion BJ Penn to establish a signature BJ Penn fitness facility in the fighter’s home state of Hawaii.

BJ Penn's Gym in Hilo, Hawaii

The facility, which will begin enrolling members in Summer 2011, is set to open for workouts in January 2012, and will be located in the Kamehameha Schools Kaka‘ako neighborhood, at the former Pipeline Café on Pohukaina Street in Honolulu.

Much like the three successful UFC Gym locations currently operating in California, UFC Gym members in Honolulu will enjoy a variety of amenities, including the signature Arm Bar Café which will feature some of BJ’s favorite foods, a UFC Gym Store for the latest in apparel, and full amenity locker rooms complete with dry saunas. Other features include functional training areas, group fitness rooms and the
famed UFC Octagon®.

BJ Penn's Hilo Ring at his academy on Kinoole Street

“BJ Penn is one of the biggest superstars in the UFC, a future Hall of Famer, and an icon in his home state of Hawaii,” UFC President Dana White said. “We’re excited to open a signature UFC GYM with BJ and expect it to become the ultimate fitness destination in Honolulu.”

“I’m very excited to be part of this tremendous opportunity,” the 32-year-old Penn, a native of Hilo, said. “I look forward to working with the UFC and UFC Gym to make this a huge success. It will be such an honor to have a UFC Gym with my name, especially in my homeland of Hawaii.”

In addition to becoming an instant destination for fitness enthusiasts in Honolulu, the lease to UFC Gym marks another milestone for the local community. Officials from Kaiaulu o Kaka‘ako, Kamehameha’s acre master planned community in Kaka‘ako, envision a healthy and sustainable community and are excited to have a UFC Gym as a cornerstone.

“UFC Gym will be a perfect addition to the master plan for our community” said Christian O’Connor, Kamehameha Schools’ senior asset manager. “A true neighborhood includes a variety of housing integrated with retail, restaurants and gathering places. A high-energy fitness center, such as UFC Gym, is the kind of establishment that creates a sense of community.”

UFC Gym’s enrollment center will be opening in the old Cutter lot on Ala Moana Boulevard in early summer 2011. Anyone interested in the ultimate fitness experience, which combines a conventional gym with mixed martial arts training for families, and people of all ages and fitness levels, may visit www.ufcgymbjpennhawaii.com.

The 36-year-old Colombian, who was taking part in a skydive in Hawaii, underwent successful surgery on Thursday, with the injury expected to keep him out of action for between three and six months.

It’s a major blow for Duque who had recently returned to some of his best form, but, if his determination to return from previous setbacks is anything to go by, then he will not be out of the water for long.

After winning the inaugural Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in 2009, Duque ended a testing year in 2010 as the runner-up to Gary Hunt.

Duque worked hard during the off-season to recapture his past form and returned to his dominant best at the start of this year, winning the first two events, in Rapa Nui and Mexico, and had hoped to make it a hat-trick of wins in Greece on May 22.

The Big Island Internet Society has grown to about 100 folks and the meetings have been moved to the third Saturday of each month. Today’s meeting was a potluck held at the societies founders house Larry Czerwonka.

Today, a group of about 20 of us met to listen to Tom Callos discuss how he has used the internet to help his business in general.

Larry Czerwonka talks to Tom Callos about the internet

This months format took a different twist as Larry interviewed Tom which was video taped and then others had the chance to go forward and give a “Born/Raised” presentation on where they were born and raised.

…At his school’s peak in the late 1990’s, Tom taught about 200 Hilo residents both stand-up martial arts (taekwondo and kickboxing) and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Before Tom started his school in Hilo, in fact, on the first day he and his bride to be Kathleen Harris moved from Kamuela to Hilo, Tom put up fliers in local gyms looking for judo players and wrestlers to train with.

The next day BJ Penn’s father called Tom and said his boys were interested. Coincidently, Tom had met JD Penn the day before, as he was leasing one of the Penn’s rental properties on Kauila St.

BJ Penn, his brother Reagan, and a number of their friends started meeting Tom two to three times a week at the Waiakea Recreation Center. Tom taught BJ and “the boys” what he knew, as he had just started training in Jiu-jitsu a 18 months before, and BJ became Tom’s 5th degree black-belt-test training partner.

“I’m going to guess that I have tapped out BJ Penn more than anyone in the world, “Said Callos in a recent interview. “Of course, that was in the first three months of training with him, because after a few months, BJ was a formidable and eventually an unbeatable opponent.”

When Callos’ instructor, Ernie Reyes, Sr. was having his 50th birthday party in 1997, Tom suggested to JD Penn that BJ could go to San Jose with him. Tom offered to introduce BJ to his former teacher, Ralph Gracie (the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu pioneered the worldwide popularity of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu).

Shortly thereafter, BJ’s father arranged for BJ to live near –and train with — Ralph Gracie’s Academy. Two years later BJ would earn his black belt (normally a 5 to 8 year process) and win the world championships, earning him the nickname, “The Prodigy”…